Keep your eyes on the birdies

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Keep your eyes on the birdies

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Thursday, 04 February 2010 02:17

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count Feb. 12-15
Bird watchers coast to coast are invited to take part in the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, Friday, Feb. 12, through Monday, Feb. 15. Participants in the free event will join tens of thousands of volunteers counting birds in their own backyards, local parks or wildlife refuges.
Each checklist submitted by these "citizen scientists" helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada learn more about how the birds are doing — and how to protect them. Last year, participants turned in more than 93,600 checklists online, creating the continent's largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.
“Taking part in the Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to get outside with family and friends, have fun, and help birds — all at the same time," Judy Braus, Audubon education vice president, said. "Even if you can only identify a few species, you can provide important information that enables scientists to learn more about how the environment is changing and how that affects our conservation priorities.”
Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org.
One 2009 participant said, “Thank you for the opportunity to participate in citizen science. I have had my eyes opened to a whole new interest and I love it!”
“The GBBC is a perfect first step towards the sort of intensive monitoring needed to discover how birds are responding to environmental change,” Janis Dickinson, the director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab, said. “Winter is such a vulnerable period for birds, so winter bird distributions are likely to be very sensitive to change. There is only one way — citizen science — to gather data on private lands where people live and GBBC has been doing this across the continent for many years. GBBC has enormous potential both as an early warning system and in capturing and engaging people in more intensive sampling of birds across the landscape.”
Bird populations are always shifting and changing. For example, 2009 GBBC data highlighted a huge southern invasion of Pine Siskins across much of the eastern United States. Participants counted 279,469 Pine Siskins on 18,528 checklists, as compared to the previous high of 38,977 birds on 4,069 checklists in 2005. Failure of seed crops farther north caused the siskins to move south to find their favorite food.
On the www.birdcount.org Web site, participants can explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting during the count. The site has tips to help identify birds and special materials for educators. Participants also may enter the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count. Many images will be featured in the GBBC Web site’s photo gallery. All participants are entered in a drawing for prizes that include bird feeders, binoculars, books, CDs and many other great birding products.
In 2010, Bird Studies Canada joins the GBBC as the program's Canadian partner. "Bird Studies Canada is delighted to be the Canadian partner for this extremely valuable program," said George Finney, president of the group. "Participating in the GBBC is an excellent way for Canadians to reconnect with their love of nature and birds."
For more information about the GBBC, visit the Web site at www.birdcount.org. Or contact the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at 800-843-2473, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Audubon at 202-861-2242, Ext. 3050, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The Great Backyard Bird Count is made possible, in part, by support from Wild Birds Unlimited.